Momma Con
by DarkstarPrime
Summary: Natalie and Nightstrider have been together since the Decepticon femme adopted the girl six years ago. What will happen when they move to Jasper and meet the Autobots? Jack/OC Arcee/OC yuri AU
1. First Meeting

**I do not own anything but the plot and the ocs**

**I hope you enjoy**

"Hello 'Bee." Regular speech

_"Optimus, do you see that?" _Bee talking

_'What the heck?' _thoughts

.:comlink:.

* * *

(Somewhere outside of Jasper, Nevada)

The sun beat down on the town of Jasper, Nevada as a dark purple Lamborghini Sesto Elemento sped along a dusty road. A shiny purple badge on the hood showed a wicked looking symbol. As the car sped along, in the passenger seat sat a young girl, about 16 years old. Her name was Natalie Whestler, and the car she was riding was no car, it was a Decepticon by the name of Nightstrider.

Natalie had been with Nightstrider since she was 10 years old. Nightstrider had come across the girl in an alley in L.A. around midnight six years ago. Curious as to why one so young was out at that time of night, she activated her holoform and went over to the girl. After a lengthy awkward moment and long conversation later, Nightstrider had learned that the girl had been kicked out by her creators because they said that they could not afford to have her around.

Nightstrider, being somewhat different from other 'Cons, took the girl into her care. Soon after, they had a strong mother-daughter bond between them. After problems began to arise the two had fled L.A. and moved to Jasper, Nevada expecting it to be a quiet, peaceful town where Natalie could go to school and Night could find a better place to stay than in an old warehouse.

"Hey Nights?" Natalie asked looking up from a book that she had been reading.

"Yes Nat?" Night responded.

"Are we almost there yet?" The girl asked in a pouting voice.

"Yes we are only a few miles away now."

"Oh, good. I was hoping to get started on settling is as soon as possible."

* * *

(Autobot base)

Arcee and Jack had just entered base when Ratchet's computer started to buzz. Everyone looked up at the screen as Ratchet went over and began typing rapidly on the keys.

"What's up Ratchet?" Miko asked with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"The computer just picked up an unknown cybertronian's life signal not to far from here." Ratchet replied still typing away.

"Can you tell which faction they belong to Ratchet?" Optimus asked as he approached the medic from the side.

"No, I can't. The signal is being distorted somehow." The white medibot replied.

"Very well. Autobots, prepare to role out. There may be an injured Autobot out there. Be prepared just in case." Optimus said as Ratchet activated the ground bridge.

As the Autobots emerged from the ground bridge Arcee surveyed the area. Off in the distance she could see a cloud of dust coming in their direction. The Autobots spread out and hid as the unknown cybertronian quickly approached their location.

As a purple vehicle drove by, totally unaware of the 'bots surrounding the road, Bumblebee notice the symbol on the hood of the car as it drove past his hiding spot. "Decepticon!"

Just before the 'bots jumped out of their hiding places to engage Arcee noticed the girl in the passenger's seat. "Optimus! They've got a civilian!"

"Autobots, pursue and engage, and remember that the child is our main priority!" Optimus said as he began to chase after the 'Con.

* * *

(Nightstrider's pov)

As I drove along the road to Jasper I began to get an uneasy feeling the further I went. Soon I notice the vehicles behind me that were quickly gaining on me. Something didn't feel right about them so I activated my scanners. _'Autobots! Scrap!'_

"Nat! Buckle up and hold on tight!" I cried as I swerved off the road.

"Why?! Nights! What's going on?" She cried as she buckled up.

"Company. My kind." I told her as I looked back again to see the green one gaining on me. _'Frag it! They're getting closer. I'm going to have to face them soon.'_

"Nat, you see those vehicles behind us?" I asked Nat as she looked back.

"Yeah."

"I can't outrun them, I'm going to have to try to fight them." I explained to her. "When I do, I am going to need you to hide as fast as you can."

"What?! But what about you?" She asked me worriedly.

"I can handle myself just fine, but I need you to be safe for me to concentrate." I told her as I began to plan out a strategy.

* * *

(Arcee's pov)

As we pursued the 'Con I thought about what they could possibly want with some random kid. '_She isn't like one of the kids back at the base, we had never met her before, so what do they want with her?'_

.:Optimus? What could they possibly want with her?:. Arcee commed her leader.

.:I cannot fathom as to why Megatron would be interested in this girl, but perhaps we will find out from her after we rescue her:. He responded as Bulkhead began to catch up to the 'Con.

_'I hope they haven't already hurt her.'_ Arcee thought to herself.

All of the sudden the 'Con hit the brakes, popped the kid out, and transformed. Standing there in front of us as the kid ran off towards some rocks nearby, was a beautiful purple femme. _'Well, this should be fun.'_

"Back off Auto-scum!" The femme said as she activated a pair of servo blasters.

"Give us the girl and leave her alone and we'll leave." Bulkhead said threateningly.

"Over my dead body!" The femme replied as she aimed her blasters at Prime. As soon as she made that move the 'Bots all aimed their weapons at her.

* * *

(Natalie's pov)

As I watched them aim their guns at mom I knew I couldn't just do nothing. So I did something really stupid and reckless.

"STOP!" I cried out as I ran out beside Night.

"Natalie. . .I told you to hide. . .this is not hiding." Night said in a dead tone.

The Autobots were standing there with a look of absolute shock.

"What the. . . ?" Bulkhead asked scratching his helm. "OK. . . What did we miss?"


	2. Hard Decisions

**I only own the plot and ocs, nothing else, but it would be cool if I did!**

* * *

_"STOP!" I cried out as I ran out beside Night._

_"Natalie. . .I told you to hide. . .this is not hiding." Night said in a dead tone._

_The Autobots were standing there with a look of absolute shock._

_"What the. . . ?" Bulkhead asked scratching his helm. "OK. . . What_ _did we miss?"_

* * *

(Arcee's pov)

As soon as we aimed our blasters at her the most bizarre thing happened. The kid that we were trying to rescue ran out of hiding to try to defend the 'Con! As I got a better look at the kid I realized that she would be about Jack's age, but I had never seen her before when I was picking him up from school so where had they come from? I also noticed the Decepticon symbol on a necklace around her neck, one that looked a lot like the one on the femme. Now that I thought about it, that specific style of symbol looked familiar but I couldn't remember where I had seen it before.

"STOP!" She cried as she came to a stop beside the 'Con.

Before I could warn her that we were the good guys the 'Con said something that surprised me even more.

"Natalie. . .I told you to hide. . .this is not hiding." The femme said in a dull tone with a hint of amusement in it.

"OK. . .What did we miss?" Bulk asked in confusion. _'I want to know that as well.'_ I thought still not believing my eyes.

The girl then looked up at the femme as if looking for guidance in this situation before turning back to stare at us.

"Our pasts and relationship with eachother as well as what the two of us decide to do is none of your business!" The femme shouted as she trained one of her blasters at him as well.

"Perhaps we may have misjudged your intentions towards the human, but we only wanted to insure her safety." Prime started as he tried to pacify the tense femme in front of us. "We are under the impression that you were taking her to Megatron for less than agreeable reasons."

"Megatron is here?!" she asked in shock.

_**"You didn't know?"** _Bee asked shaking slightly as the femme looked him in the optic.

"I've been out of it for awhile." she replied looking back at Prime.

"Nights? Who is Megaprom?" the kid asked completely butchering the name. _'Haha, I never would have thought of calling him that but he is rather big on pageantry.'_

"He is the leader of the Decepticons sweetspark." the femme answered back never taking her eyes off of us. That is when I took a closer look at the emblem on her chest. That's when it struck me as to where I had seen it before. There in broad daylight was a symbol I never thought I'd have the misfortune to see up close. It was the modified symbol for the Decpticon Elite Forces. _'Shit! I hope she deserted because that's the last thing we need them getting, reinforcements like that!' _I thought as I remembered hearing about all of the things they could do to a bot without even onlining a single weapon.

.:Guys, am I seeing things or is that emblem on her chest what I think it is?:. I asked over the comms.

.:What do you. . .Oh slag! Frag me sideways and feed me to the scraplets! Not good! What is a Decepticon Elite doing here, and with a human girl?:. Bulk shouted in slight panic over the comms. He had seen and fought his fair share of Elites and from what he says, it sucks aft because they are the best of the best and it is rare that a 'Bot met one and didn't get offlined or barely get away with at least a good number of injuries.

I swore she could see the panic in our optics when I saw her smirk just a bit during the comm conversation.

"What were you doing with the youngling?" Prime asked in an even tone even thought I knew he must be at least slightly apprehensive about this femme. They say that Megatron himself had trained each and every one of the Elites himself.

"Traveling through." she replied obviously not liking the question.

"I thought you said that we were going to be staying in Jasper for awhile? Why did you change your mind?" the girl asked as if hurt that they wouldn't be staying.

"With Megatron here you won't be safe if you're around me, so we need to move on. Maybe we can find somewhere else you can go to school without anyone recognizing you." the femme responded in a light tone that just screamed that she really did care. "Trust me, the things that he and his cronies are capable of are not things that I ever want you to experience. He is a sick, twisted fragger that has no respect for anyone but himself."

"I take it that you no longer serve the Decepticons?" Prime asked as he took a careful step forward, hopeful that they would not have to worry about another 'Con running around. I just hoped that the femme didn't decide that we were threats to the girl if she really did care about the youngling as much as she appeared to. If she did, then she might decide that attacking us would be the best way to get a point across.

"No. . . but neither do I support the Autobots. They have done many horrible things in this war as well. Like offlining my creators!" the femme shouted as she fired off a warning shot above our heads.

"Hey mom. . ." the kid began before getting interrupted by all of us.

"MOM?!" We all shouted in disbelief and shock.

"Yes. . . I adopted her years ago." the femme explained.

"As I was saying, mom, didn't you say that you needed a place to stay?"

"Yeah, what's your point and can't this wait?"

* * *

(Natalie's pov)

"Well, I just thought that. . . you know. . . these guys may not be as bad as the 'Bots that killed your parents, so maybe we could give them a chance to get to know us and then we might have friends here." I suggested just waiting for her to shoot down the idea as irrational and ridiculous.

". . ."

"I mean, just think about it! We wouldn't have to hide from everyone like we did before." I explained my idea hoping that she would consider it before I pulled out the big guns on her. The one thing that she could never resist as I had found out long ago. The puppy dog face, or as she called it, that face that could make Unicron become a pacifist. I do tend to be evil at times. That is why Nights sometimes says that I could be a great 'Con.

Turning to the new 'Bots I asked the key question to getting what I wanted, which was to stay here, go to school, make friends, make sure Nights was happy, and still have fun. "Would you guys be opposed to us coming with you if she agrees?"

After I asked them it looked as if they were at least considering it. I wondered if it was some how possible for them to comunicate without talking because that is exactly what it looked like they were doing at the moment.

* * *

(Arcee's pov)

What? Was this girl serious? Did she actually think that we would just let them in with open arms? Then again this could be a great advantage. If we could get this new femme on our side she might be able to teach us things about the 'Cons and we would have more firepower in fights. That is if the others agreed to it.

.:Autobots. What do you think about this turn of events?:. Prime asked over the comms.

.:I think it beats having to fight her:. Bulk piped in.

.:It could be interesting to have them at base but who knows:. Bee said watching the femme like a hawk.

.:I think she could be useful as long as we get her to become an Autobot:. I said considering the possibility of not being the only femme on base any more.

* * *

(Nightstrider's pov)

"I mean, just think about it! We wouldn't have to hide from everyone like we did before."

As soon as the words left her mouth I was in shock. How could I give them a chance when those other Autobots hadn't even given my creators a chance? Then again, these were different 'Bots and one _was_ a Prime after all and I did need to think about what was best for Natalie, and going with them could possibly provide added protection for her. Ugh. Why can't life be easier. If I make the wrong decision our lives could get really complicated, really fast.

"We would be willing to give the two of you the benifit of the doubt and let you join us, but you must understand that we will not be able to completely trust you just yet." the Prime said as they all focused on me again, even Nat.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to give them the smallest chance to prove to me that my decision to snuff the sparks of every Autobot I ever met before I met you was not completely warranted." I told Natalie in a soft voice as I offlined my weapons and looked at the 'Bots pointedly until they did the same.

"Very well. If you would follow us." the Prime said as the blue one stared at me with a look that said 'I will be watching you'. There was a flash of green and we all went through a ground bridge, apparently, to the Autobot base.

_'Oh goody.'_


	3. Arrival

**I do not own anything but the plot and my ocs.**

**I am open to ideas on things you would like to see.**

**Now on with the story...**

* * *

(Autobot Base)

Back at the base everyone was waiting for the others to return. While they were gone June and Fowler had arrived together, they had been going out for awhile. The first thing Fowler said was "Where's Prime? We need to talk!"

"He is out checking in on a signal we picked up earlier. You will just have to wait!" Ratchet barked back. "It that's even possible for you." He added under his breath.

.:Ratchet. Open the ground bridge:. Prime commed in.

.:Opening ground bridge now:. Ratchet replied.

Once all the Autobots were in the base Ratchet prepared to shut it down.

"Hold on Ratchet! Two others coming in as well." Prime said as Natalie and Nightstrider entered the base.

"SWEET! A NEW BOT!" Miko shouted as she made her way over but soon stopped and jumped back."Wait a minute, you're not a Bot! You're a Con!"

"Correct." Nightstrider said in a bored voice.

"How did you catch her Bulk?" Miko asked rabid for details.

"Catch her? Ha! Nobody can get beat _my_ momma!" Natalie shouted out in amusement from behind Nightstrider. Out she stepped, clutching her stomach as she laughed. "She's only here because I am!" she said. The humans in the room were shocked to see the girl in the company of the 'con and calling her mom. June looked concerned and suspicious while Fowler looked like he was about to shit a brick.

"Nat. Be careful. We don't know them that well yet." Night warned her as she eyed the bots in the room.

"Oh stop fussing Nights!" Natalie sighed in false irritation.

"I can't. Not when I'm surrounded by the enemy!" Nights replied still eyeing those around her.

Fowler had finally gotten over his slight brain constipation, or at least enough so that he was able to form speech. "P-P-PRIME! W-what the hell!? Y-you brought a C-con here!" June was glaring daggers at him for his language usage and Prime looked like he was annoyed that he had to explain every thing to him.

"She has come peacefully and has no interest in joining with Megatron at this time," Prime explained as he looked over the humans gathered there.

Miko, who had been studying Nightstrider ever since she first spoke up had just noticed that her Decepticon symbol was different than the others that she had seen. "Hey, why is her symbol different?"

The Autobots all tensed up and looked like they weren't going to say anyting when the 'Con in question answered her. "It is because I am an Elite Decepticon. I was trained by Megatron himself in the art of death. I know more ways to snuff a spark than there are ways to save them, some without even using any kind of weapon at all. I am very likwly to be the most dangerous Decepticon you will ever see short of Megatron himself. Because of my advanced training I was given this emblem to mark me above the rest. I was given the right to kill anyone short of the officers above me. I was able to call my own shots on the battlefield and hunt down whoever I chose. I am a killer. Does that answer your question fleshling?" Her blood red optics were burning holes into the head of Miko as the girl backed away quickly, hiding behind Bulkhead.

* * *

(Arcee's pov)

As we stood there watching her after her outburst I found myself looking her over. She was not to bulky, not to thin. She could obviously take care of herself. She even kinda looked hot. _'Wait! Did I just think of her as hot? She's a femme, and a 'Con no less! Get a hold of yourself Arcee!' _I then looked down at Jack and saw him staring at Natalie. The look in his eyes said it all. He was attracted to her. I looked at Natalie and saw the same look, but better hidden.

"I believe it would be best if we all introduced ourselves." Prime said after an awkward silence. "I. . . am Optimus Prime."

I decided to step forward next. "The names Arcee."

Bulkhead was next. Then Ratchet, Bee, Jack, Miko, Raf, June, Fowler, Natalie, and then Nightstider.

"So what is with you and the 'Con?" Jack asked Natalie as she walked over to the group after the introductions were done.

"Well, we met about six years ago while I was living on the streets in L.A." Natalie began. "She came upon me one night while I was laying in an alley around midnight. I guess she thought it was odd for me to be out at that time. She activated her holoform and came to ask me why I was out. After she asked me I just stared at her for awhile, then I decided that it couldn't hurt to talk about it. You see, my parents didn't want me any more, they said that I was to expensive so they kicked me out. When she heard that she told me to come with her. I followed her to a purple car and she drove me out of town."

"Heh. I remember that night quite well. I took you out past that old gas station and into that shed." Nights put in with a smile forming on her faceplates.

"Yeah and then you just disappeared from the drivers seat after telling me to get out." Nat continued. "At first I thought you were going to kill me but I got out anyway. Then as soon as I was out she transformed and told me about herself and offered to take me with her. Well obviously I wasn't going to pass up on that offer, it was way better than the streets of L.A."

"I still remember the look in your eyes when I transformed that first time." Nights laughed.

"After awhile she asked me if I wanted to stay with her indefinitely, and I said yes. We've been together ever since, and I have never had to worry about being harassed by anyone anymore." She finished as she walked back over to Nightstrider and patted her hand on her pedde.

"Yeah and if they did, they wouldn't have liked the results." Nightstrider said in an ominous tone. The Autobots were now only slightly shocked while June was crying softly at how sweet that sounded for an out of this world being from another galaxy.

"Wait a minute! You were kicked out 6 years ago?" Fowler asked slowly.

"Yes?" Natalie responded.

"How old are you?" Fowler asked after that.

"16"

"So you were only ten when they kicked you out and when you met this Night-smiter?"

"NIGHTSTRIDER!" Natalie yelled at him after he butchered her mom's name. Fowler jumped back a bit at the sudden anger coming from the girl in front of him.

"Okay! Sorry!"

"No. I'm sorry. I over reacted. It's just that we're very protective of each other." Natalie apologized.


	4. Rock Bottom

**I do not own Transformers. It is the respective property of its respective owners. I only claim this story and my ocs.**

**I am still open to suggestions as to what readers would like to see in this story, so drop me a review or something to tell me what you would like to see come in to play.**

* * *

_"So you were only ten when they kicked you out and when you met this Night-smiter?"_

_"NIGHTSTRIDER!" Natalie yelled at him after he butchered her mom's name. Fowler jumped back a bit at the sudden anger coming from the girl in front of him._

_"Okay! Sorry!"_

_"No. I'm sorry. I over reacted. It's just that we're very protective of each other." Natalie apologized._

* * *

(Arcee pov)

As we all stood there looking at the newest human on base glaring at Fowler, we could all see an inner strength inside her. I guess they really were close to each other. Then again, sticking together for six years of your own free will, you would have to like each other. Then there is the fact that most Decepticons despise other races, especially humans. I still find it hard to believe that they actually like each other.

I was suddenly caught up in thoughts about the new femme again. Why is she so different from all the other 'Cons? Sure there were 'Cons that felt a sense of honor, but at spark, they are still all the same. Yet this femme goes against all that I ever thought I knew about 'Cons. My processor was racing trying to figure it out.

Finally I just sat down and watched the femme in question. As I sat there I thought back to what she had said about Autobots offlining her creators. That could be the reason she connected with Natalie so well. They were both cast out into the world at a young age with no idea what to expect. That didn't mean that Nightstider didn't still hate humans like other Decepticons, nor does that mean that she really is all that different. She could still be a loyal supporter of Megatron, she may just be worried about how Natalie would be received by the other 'Cons.

Fowler chose that moment to leave saying that he had reports that needed to be filed and people he had to talk to. As he left, June got in her car and drove out of base saying that she needed to get to work. The kids were plowing Nightstrider with questions about being a Decepticon, what she did in the war, what she has been doing recently and so on.

"Well, back when I wasn't rogue, we were basically free to go where we wish as long as it doesn't interfere with our leaders plans. Secrets are hard to keep because Soundwave is like a master intelligence officer. We obviously aren't supposed to form strong attachments outside of the Decepticon cause, but. . . you now, I never was really keen on the idea of being a mindless grunt."

"That's why I went through the extra training. As an Elite, I was given more freedom, than others. I was allowed to hunt down my own targets and go where I wanted as long as I reported in every now and then. Of course I used this to hunt down the 'Bots that offlined my creators. At first that was all that was on my mind, but when I saw other 'Bots defending them, even after I told them why the deserved to die, I decided that all 'Bots were the same. Never thought otherwise until now." As soon as she was done speaking Optimus spoke up.

"Because you are both so close and will no doubt wish to stay together, we will have to find you quarters together here at base. Is that acceptable with you two?" Prime asked gaining their attention.

"As long as we're in the same place, I can live with it." Natalie said still looking around.

"If she's happy then it's okay with me." Nightstrider said looking at Natalie.

"Then please follow me to your new living quarters." The three of them left the rest of us in the main room

Tomorrow would be interesting. New faces, new challenges. Great. How do I now that this femme won't turn out to be just a huge mistake. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it wasn't worth the risk. She could turn on us any moment, taking Natalie with her. Sure I want to believe that she could be changed, but that doesn't always happen. I guess I'll just have to wait and see if this was all just a big mistake or not.

* * *

(Time Skip - 2 weeks)

Nightstider and Natalie have been here for 2 weeks and Nightstrider still keeps to herself around us. She is more open around the kids than anyone, which was good to know. It could mean that she had a soft spot for kids. Today Bulk and me have been checking out an energon reading Ratchet had picked up earlier. Jack and Miko were waiting outside of the caves we had arrived at. As we finished searching I decided that there was never any energon to begin with. This was an old Decepticon mine and they never leave anything behind.

"By all appearances the mine's been stripped." I told Bulk as we exited the tunnels.

"But I'm getting a signal, it's faint, but it's definitely energon." Bulk replied, looking at the device he was holding that was supposed to pick up energon readings.

"Doesn't make sense. This operation's been abandoned four, maybe five years, and Decepticons never leave energon behind." I pushed my point further.

"Uh, guys." Jack spoke up pointing behind us.

The two of us turned to see Miko running into the tunnels. "Cool!" She shouted as she disappeared into the darkness.

"She went in? Unbelievable." I stated in false disbelief.

"Really? Have you _met _her?" Jack asked sarcastically.

"Ugh. Miko! Get back here." Bulkhead said running in after her.

"It, would be kinda interesting to see. You know, if it were..." Jack started but I interrupted him.

"...safe? A stripped mine can be structurally unstable Jack." I informed him.

"I promise to step lightly." He continued hopefully.

"Just don't tell your mom." I said putting my servo up to my faceplate in contemplation as we both started back into the abandoned energon mine.

* * *

(Outside - No one's pov)

As soon as Arcee and Jack had entered the mine, a cybertronian jet and a F16 arrived and transformed into Megatron and Starscream.

* * *

(Back at base - Nightstrider's pov)

Natalie and I were sitting down in the rec room as we continued to beat Bee and Raf at the human video games. We were playing a team paintball challenge game as Ratchet and Optimus headed out on patrol. Arcee, Bulkhead, Jack and Miko had left earlier to check out an energon reading, leaving us here to enjoy the time away from Miko.

"Nights lookout!" Natalie shouted just as Raf's character jumped out of the bushes and splattered mine in neon green paint.

"Eat paint Nights!" Raf shouted out in excitement. The kids and I have gotten along pretty well because of my soft spot for younglings. I don't socialize with any of the others but Bee much, and I only like him because of his innocence that just leakes out of his every seam.

_**"Way to go Raf!"**_Bee cheered as my character did a dramatic act of falling to the ground for the 3 minute wait to re-spawn.

"Dang kid! You're really good at this!" Natalie said as she moved her character into a new position. Knowing her she was most likely setting up an ambush. I was proven right moments later when she dropped down on Bee's character covering him in pink paint. "Ha! Gotcha Bee!"

* * *

(Timeskip - hours later)

It's been hours since they left Bee." Raf exclaimed nervously. "What if it was a trap? What if something happened?"

"Relax kid. I'll go and check on them, and before you say anything Bee, you're the only one here who can operate the ground bridge. Since we can't contact Ratchet or Prime because they are doing recon, I am the only one available to go. Okay?" Nightstrider responded trying to pacify both of them.

"I'll be back in no time. Bee? Would you do the honors?" I asked as I approached the ground bridge.

_**"Okay. But be**_** careful."** Bee said as he approached the controls.

"I will." I said as I started through the portal.

When I got there what I found was...hard to stomach. The entire place had caved in.

.:Bee? We've got a problem. The place has caved in and chances are they're inside. I'm going to be late getting back:. I commed back to base as I began to shift and blast rocks out of my way. _'Hold on guys, I may not like you all that much, but no one should go like this.'_

Much later I made it through the worst of it and I shined my lights around looking for the kids and the 'Bots. _'Well, better get looking.'_

As I searched I thought I heard a voice I never thought I'd hear again. _'Starscream is here? Great, just what I need. A 'Con with a crush on me. Ugh'_ I thought as I headed towards him, what I found was both a relief and I shocker. Bulkhead holding up the ceiling, Arcee aiming her blasters at Starscream, Starscream cowering there until he saw me. "Nightstrider? Is that you? Well aren't you a sight for sore optics! Let's take these two out and save our Master!" He said with glee in his eyes.

"Nightstrider! What?!" Arcee yelled back towards me believing that I had betrayed them.

"Sorry Starscream. I don't serve Megatron anymore." I said as I aimed my blasters at his spark.

"YOU! YOU! YOU TRAITOR! MEGATRON WILL BE FURIOUS!" He screeched as we put him under the weight of the cave ceiling, leaving him there. Soon after we found the kids and exited the old mine.

.:Bee? I found them. We could really use a bridge:. I commed as soon as we were out.

.:Coming right up. Good job!:. He replied.

"I can't believe that I volunteered to help your sorry afts! If anyone asks, I'm going to say that I only did it for the kids." i exclaimed as I entered the bridge. As soon as we were all throught, Bulkhead and Arcee stopped me to talk.

"Hey. Thanks for...you know...coming for us." Arcee said in a nervous voice.

"Yeah...thanks a lot Nights!" Bulk put in as he and Miko walked off with Jack towards Raf and Bee.

* * *

(Arcee's pov)

As soon as I heard Starscreams excitement when he saw Nightstrider I was sure that she had played us all for fools.

"Nightstrider! What?!" I yelled at her in anger.

"Sorry Starscream. I don't serve Megatron anymore." Nightstrider said as she aimed her own blasters at his spark as well.

"YOU! YOU! YOU TRAITOR! MEGATRON WILL BE FURIOUS!" He screeched as we put him under the weight of the ceiling, leaving him there. Soon after we found the kids and left the mine.

.:Bee? I found them. We could really use a bridge:. Nights commed as soon as we were out.

.:Coming right up. Good job!:. He replied.

"I can't believe that I volunteered to help your sorry afts! If anyone asks, I'm going to say that I only did it for the kids." She exclaimed as we entered the bridge. As soon as we were all throught, Bulkhead and I stopped her to thank her for coming for us.

"Hey. Thanks for...you know...coming for us." i said in a nervous voice.

"Yeah...thanks a lot Nights!" Bulk put in as he and Miko walked off with Jack towards Raf and Bee.

"You're welcome." She said as she headed for her quarters.

Wow. Who would have thought that we would be rescued by her of all people?


	5. Talking About Problems

**I don't own Transformers but I would love it if I did.**

**This chapter is going to be the turning point in Nightstider. It has been almost a month since the two of them have come to base. She has already forsaken most Decepticon ideals, but will she change completely?**

* * *

(Nightstrider's pov)

I have been out of it for a few days. I have been thinking heavily on subjects that have come to my attention since the event at the mine. I couldn't really answer some of these questions myself, so I had decided to turn to the one person that I knew I could trust. Natalie. Whenever either of us were troubled, the other always helped the most.

So here we were, sitting in our shared quarters discussing the things on my mind. Neither of us had noticed a certain blue bot following us to our quarters after I had asked Natalie if I could speak with her.

"Natalie? What would you do if you felt that everything you thought was right began to change in a very short amount of time? I mean for the first time since...you now...when my parents...of-offlined, I feel like I can be around others like me without worrying about getting stabbed in the back, but that is just it! I mean, I trusted Geargrinder even though he was an Autobot and my sire was a 'con, and you know what happened when he found out! He and his friends killed both of them and tried to kill me!" I said as I paced back and forth. "Back then I was still neutral like my carrier, but after seeing that...I just couldn't wait to get revenge and I didn't hesitate to snuff an Autobot's spark, but back at the mines...I had the opportunity to go back, but I couldn't. Something just didn't feel right."

"Well, maybe I've been rubbing off on you." Natalie suggested looking up at me with concern.

"That's just it! I don't know if I want that though..."

"What do you mean? If you didn't want that then why did you go and help them the other day?" Nat questioned sitting down on her bed.

"I don't know. I guess it is because Arcee kinda reminds me of me, just a much better version." I thought out loud.

"How so?" Nat asked sitting up straighter.

"Well...she just looks like she has lost people very close to her, but you don't see her killing every 'con in sight do you?"

"Well..."

"Exactly! That's what I mean." I stated as I thought about how much I wished I could be more like Arcee.

"Is there anything else?"

"I don't know...I just feel trapped." I tried to explain. "By now, all of the Decepticons know that I betrayed them in that mine! Megatron will know that I'm here on Earth! He'll want me dead and if he finds out about you..."

"Hey! It'll be alright Nights! I'm safe here." She tried comforting me as I collapsed on my berth.

"That's just it! Maybe I should just leave you here and get away from you before something happens." I started. "I just...I feel...I...I don't want to go through it all again. I don't want something to happen to someone I care about because of me! I don't want to change sides, put you in danger and find out that these bots are just like Geargrinder. Besides, I doubt that they really want me around anyway, I mean look at me! I'm a Con in all but spark! They probably only wanted to keep an eye on me to keep you safe."

"You can't leave! What about us!? You can't leave me!" Natalie cried as she realized what had been troubling me.

I smirked at the thought of me leaving and her sneaking out to track me down. "We both know it would never work anyway. You'd track me down again. That and I can't bring myself to be unselfish and leave you here where your safe."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way." Nat stated as she settled in to get some recharge, I mean sleep. I then decided to do the same, recharge sounded good right about now. This whole episode has been nothing but confusing.

* * *

(Arcee's pov)

Everyone was in the main room except for Nightstrider. That femme was a conundrum that I didn't know if we would ever figure out. She obviously cares about Natalie, but why would she help the rest of us? I can see her maybe helping the other kids but that is as far as I thought she would go.

As I was thinking I noticed movement to my left and turned to see Nightstrider coming in.

"Hey Nat? Can I speak with you?" She asked in a very tense and stressed voice. _'What is up with her?'_ I thought to myself as I followed them out. I followed them all the way to their quarters and then I stayed there to listen to what they were saying. Luckily for me their door hadn't shut all the way so I was able to hear quite well.

"Natalie? What would you do if you felt that everything you thought was right began to change in a very short amount of time? I mean for the first time since...you now...when my parents...of-offlined, I feel like I can be around others like me without worrying about getting stabbed in the back, but that is just it! I mean, I trusted Geargrinder even though he was an Autobot and my sire was a 'con, and you know what happened when he found out!" I was surprised to hear about the bot named Geargrinder. _'So she trusted this Autobot a lot and then he betrayed her! No wonder she doesn't seem to trust any of us bots.'_

"He and his friends killed both of them and tried to kill me! Back then I was still neutral like my carrier, but after seeing that...I just couldn't wait to get revenge and I didn't hesitate to snuff an Autobot's spark, but back at the mines...I had the opportunity to go back, but I couldn't. Something just didn't feel right." As I listened in I found myself angered at those Autobots. _'So that's the reason why she hated Autobots! Her carrier was a neutral and her sire may have been a 'con but this Geargrinder and that group of bots wanted to offline them all just because of her sire? Those sick fraggers!'_ I thought as I listened in some more.

"Well, maybe I've been rubbing off on you." Natalie suggested with concern.

"That's just it! I don't know if I want that though..."

"What do you mean? If you didn't want that then why did you go and help them the other day?" Nat questioned sitting down on her bed by the sound of springs moving and fabric ruffling.

"I don't know. I guess it is because Arcee kinda reminds me of me, just a much better version." I heard Nightstrider say. Needless to say that shocked the pit out of me! Was I really that bad?

"How so?" Nat asked sitting up.

"Well...she just looks like she has lost people very close to her, but you don't see her killing every 'con in sight do you?"

"Well..."

"Exactly! That's what I mean." She stated loudly.

"Is there anything else?"

"I don't know...I just feel trapped." Nightstrider explained. "By now, all of the Decepticons know that I betrayed them in that mine! Megatron will know that I'm here on Earth! He'll want me dead and if he finds out about you..."

"Hey! It'll be alright Nights! I'm safe here." Natalie said in a comforting tone as I heard Nightstrider collapse on her berth.

"That's just it! Maybe I should just leave you here and get away from you before something happens." Nights started. "I just...I feel...I...I don't want to go through it all again. I don't want something to happen to someone I care about because of me! I don't want to change sides, put you in danger and find out that these bots are just like Geargrinder. Besides, I doubt that they really want me around anyway, I mean look at me! I'm a Con in all but spark! They probably only wanted to keep an eye on me to keep you safe." I was speechless. _'That's not true! We really just wanted to help.'_

"You can't leave! What about us!? You can't leave me!" Natalie cried out.

"We both know it would never work anyway. You'd track me down again. That and I can't bring myself to be unselfish and leave you here where your safe."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way." Nat stated as she settled down on her bad again. I heard Nightstrider follow suit so I decided to go to my own quarters to think about all that I had heard.


	6. Partners

(Arcee's Pov)

I was on top of the base beside Cliff's marker looking out across the Nevada Desert, thinking about what has changed since we lost him.

"Hey partner. Heck of a view you got up here. If there's even a small chance your spark is out there listening, well, we could really use you Cliff. Optimus took in a stray 'Con and another human, and get this, the 'Con is an elite! Seems like every day another Decepticon arrives on the scene. We're outnumbered and outgunned." I spoke to the wind, hoping that he could hear me. A paused for a short time."Yeah I know what you'd say, sounds like a fair fight, and if that's the world we live in, so be it. I just want you to know, I haven't given up. I'm gonna find the 'Con that took you from us."

As I re-entered the base I heard the alarm go off at Ratchet's computer.

"Optimus. Our scanners have detected a Decepticon energy profile, but it's...ancient." Ratchet announced to Prime who had come up behind him.

"The past has a way of catching up with the present, Ratchet." Prime replied. "We will need to investigate. Nightstrider, will you come? Nightstirder?" He asked looking around for the rogue 'Con. I looked around to and didn't see her anywhere. I couldn't see Natalie, either.

Suddenly we all heard gunfire coming from below, down in the basement. Concerned, we all went down to investigate.

* * *

(Natalie's Pov)

Nights and I were down in the basement blowing off steam from being kept inside the base all the time. Right now we were going through my personal collection of firearms. She was using her holoform right now so that she could shoot with me. She usually shot my guns with me. We were so focused on our target practice that we didn't notice the other bots show up.

"Hey Nights, let's try the Compressed SBR-300 BLK next." I suggested as I put down the gun I currently held. A Hard Core 300 M4.

"Sure thing Nat." She responded taking out the SBR out of her subspace for me. "Here you go." She pulled out a new gun as well, a DDM4 v5-300 BLK, putting down the STAR-15 Custom that she was currently using. Growing up in L.A. on the streets, you tend to learn to love things like these, they could save your life one day. If we had looked back we would have seen the shocked expressions on the faceplates of all of the bots here.

"So Nights, have you figured out if we're leaving or not?" I asked casually as I walked forward, loading the SBR.

"Yeah. I think it would be in our best interests if we stayed here." She replied aiming down the range at some soda cans.

* * *

(Arcee's pov)

When we got to the basement area, we were met with a shocking sight. Natalie and Nightstrider were there shooting human weapons at targets on the range. Where had they gotten those, must have been the question on all of our minds.

"Hey Nights, let's try the Compressed SBR-300 BLK next." Natalie said as she put down the gun she currently held.

"Sure thing Nat." Nigthstrider responded taking out the SBR out of her subspace for Natalie. "Here you go." She pulled out a new gun as well putting down the gun that she was currently using in her holoform.

"So Nights, have you figured out if we're leaving or not?" Natalie asked casually as she walked forward, loading the SBR.

"Yeah. I think it would be in our best interests if we stayed here." Nightstider replied aiming down the range at some targets.

"Really?" Natalie spoke up, glee sparkling in her eyes.

"Yeah. I'm sick of going from place to place. I doubt I'll ever see Geargrinder again, he's probably already offline, so I won't be able to snuff his spark myself anyway. I just hope that Autobot's death was slow and agonizing." Nightstrider said with the same tone that I use when I speak about Airachnid.

At that moment Prime decided to make our presence known. "Eh-em. Nightstrider, I would like for you to join us in an investigation of a Decepticon ship."

The two of them jumped and turned around. "Oh! Uh...okay. Nat, do you want me to leave the rest of the guns here for you?" Nights said in response.

"Sure." No sooner had she said that, guns started to pour out of the femmes subspace.

"Okay, I'll be back Nat."

"I know, you always come back." Nat said in a smug tone.

With that we headed back up to the main hanger and proceeded through the ground bridge.

We arrived outside of a destroyed 'Con ship. "So why did you want me to come? I mean, I thought I made it clear that I wasn't interested in giving out Decepticon secrets, so why do you want me here?" Nightstrider questioned as we looked for a way in.

**_"Because, you need to get out more__ Nights!"_**Bee said looking around.

"But that doesn't explain why it had to be to a Decepticon warship." Nightstrider continued.

"Hey guys! Found our entrance!" I shouted having found a crack in the hull.

"Good work Arcee, let's enter and investigate the energy reading that Ratchet detected." Prime ordered as he entered the ship.

I looked back and saw Nightstrider standing there looking at the ship. Not moving at all. "You coming Nights?"

"Huh? Oh...yeah...its just that this ship brings back memories, that's all. Let's go." She replied entering ahead of me.

We had been scouring the ship for a short time when we went around a corner and I saw the last person I wanted to see. Airachnid.

"Airachnid!" I gasped.

"Surrender!" Prime ordered from behind me right before she turned and fled back the way she had come.  
I immediately chased after her.

As we continued down the hall Starscream came into view.

"Airachnid! You traitor!" He called as she began digging her way to the surface. I ran right past him without even casting a backwards glance, my CPU totally focused on Airachnid. I climbed up the tunnel she had made following close behind her, not listening when Prime told me to wait. "Arcee! Wait!"

* * *

(Nightstrider's Pov)

After Arcee had climbed up the tunnel Prime looked back at me. "What?" I asked shifting my wait nervously.

"Nightstrider. Would you consent to following Arcee while the rest of us find another way up?" He asked urgently.

I looked around at the others, noticing Starscream staring at my aft, again. Ewe. The rest seemed to be hoping that I would go.

"Fine." I consented as I started my way up.

As I exited the tunnel I looked up to see Airachnid holding Arcee, and for some reason that made me madder than it should have. _'How dare she grab my femme! Wow, wait, where did that come from?'_ I thought quickly onlining my servo blades running towards them.

"Airachnid! LET...HER...GO!" I shouted running at her preparing to stab her if she didn't.

"Well, if it isn't Nightstrider. Wow you've sunk low, siding with the very group that offlined your creators. Pathetic. Oh well, got to go." Airachnid replied already flying off. By then Prime and the others had arrived.

"Arcee, you know better than to engage the enemy alone." Prime said in a very serious voice.

"Not her, not after what she did to Tailgate." Arcee responded as her optics lost focus. "She will pay."

"Revenge will not bring back those we have lost. Is that understood?" Prime stated with finality.

"Move it!" We turned to see Bulkhead and Bee bring Starscream. Ugh.

As Prime went over to them I grabbed Arcee's shoulder joint to get her to wait. "Prime may be right about revenge not bringing them back, but it does a pit of a good job making us feel better, just knowing that their killers didn't get away unpunished. Trust me, if its for the right reasons, it can do a world of good. For the wrong reasons though, it can do nothing but wrong." I said as I released her shoulder and went over to the other with her following close behind.

"Well, if it isn't Nightstrider, looking glitchin' as always." Starscream said in that creepy little voice of his.

"Uhg...Starscream, now is not the time for your perverted attraction to me to make an appearance." I stated in a threatening voice.

"Okay, okay. Play hard to get all you want to." He responded in kind.

"Hurry up!" Bulkhead said again shoving 'Scream down to the ground.

"No need to use force! I'll tell you anything you want to know." Starscream said in indignation.

"Is that right, and what do you want in return?" Bulk asked as he and Bee glared at him.

"I want to be on your side." Starscream stated.

_CPU malfunction  
Logic Processor failure  
Emotion Core overload  
Thought Processor compromised  
Initiating stasis mode in  
3...  
2...  
1...  
Stasis initiated while malfunction is dealt with.  
_

And with that my optics powered off and I fell sideways as the others watched in confusion and shock.

* * *

(Arcee's pov)

I watched in confusion as Nightstrider fell sideways and her joints locked up. _'What just happened to my femme!'_ I thought in anger as I rushed over to her to check on her, not even realizing what I had just called her. She was stuck in stasis for some reason, probably something like what used to happen to Prowl all the time, I know it wouldn't take much more to make me question myself right now. Two 'Cons joining us? Really? I don't like those odds.

"On our side? Haha and I've been lobbing with the Fallen." Bulkhead said sarcastically.

"You wouldn't betray the Decepticons." I said heading back over to the group. "Nightstrider hasn't even joined us completely and she's been with us for weeks!"

"She always had her own agenda. She never truly believed in the Decepticon beleifs, she just thought that we were 'the better of the two evils' as she put it, and wouldn't I? What have they done for me lately, besides humiliate me, spy on me, demote me? Megatron tried to extinguish my spark in cold blood then all but replaced me with the traitorous wretch Airachnid."He stated. "She abandoned me, left me for scrap! So why not rat them out?"

After he had said that Prime, Bulk and I went off to have a conversation about this, leaving Bee to watch over Starscream.

"He's telling the truth about Megatron trying to scrap him." I started off. "I saw it with my own optics."

"You're not saying you actually trust Starscream?" Bulk asked disbelievingly.

"Trust him? Never. He's not like Nights, but this may be the one time our objectives align."

"You're right to be wary Bulkhead, but I agree with Arcee." Prime concluded. "We will be cautious in our alliance with Starscream, however temporary it may become."

Soon after we had returned to Starscream Nights onlined clutching her head. "Someone tell me I imagined that." She pleaded before looking over at Starscream. "Nope, guess not."

Starscream, do you know where Airachnid is headed?" Prime asked.

"To the other half of the Harvenger, to collect a top secret Decepticon weapon." He replied with a gleam in his optics.

"Where is the Harvenger?" Prime continued.

"That way, a few clicks north of here." Starscream answered.

.:Ratchet, send me my trailer:. Prime commed Ratchet.

.:On its way:. No sooner than that was said than a green portal opened and a trailer came through.

"Bulkhead, put Starscream inside, the rest of you, transform and roll out." Prime called, transforming as he did so.

By the time we reached our destination, I was already questioning bringing Starscream along, but there was no going back now.

* * *

(Nightstider's pov)

When we stopped in front of a stone arch we transformed, turning around to face Prime as he arrived with the trailer of perviness.

"What do you know?" Bulkhead said as we stood there.

"Could still be a trap." Arcee said guardedly.

"I agree with Arcee, this could be all part of their plan." I said as I looked around carefully.

"Starscream's loyalty to Megatron has always been questionable." Prime spoke out as he approached us. "If he has truly split from the Decepticons, our prisoners knowledge of their agendas could make him a valuable ally."

"You don't mean permanently, as in keys to the base and everything? We already have one 'con, no offense Nights." Bulkhead said in response.

"None taken," I said in an offhand kind of tone.

"However unlikely that scenario, every sentient being deserves an opportunity for redemption, just like Nightstrider." Prime answered back.

"Even bot killers, even Airachnid?" Arcee said in disbelief and outrage.

"Without that hope we may never achieve lasting peace." Prime explained.

"Rise and shine, Screamy." Bulk said as he pulled Starscream out of the trailer.

"We're here. Where's the ship?" I asked while he got his bearings.

He looked this around before replying. "It's through the arch. Among the stones." He replied.

"Bulkhead, Bumblebee you're with me. Arcee and Nightstrider, remain with our prisoner." Prime said, turning around to head through the arch in the direction Starscream had given us.

"You know, if you hated me so much, you could always do something less painful to me, like slowly carve my spark out of my chassis with a rock!" I heard Nights call after him in obvious annoyance.

* * *

(Nightstrider's pov)

I walked over to a rock to sit down as Arcee went over to Prime, probably to complain about guarding 'Screams-a-lot. I know I'm not to happy. I have to sit around with the one person I can't stand. Him and his perviness, it just creeps me out to no end. Oh well, better than going in after an unknown weapon that could cause unknown damage to one such as myself.

"Is the clamp really necessary? I promise not to fly away. It's really giving me a crick!" Starscream complained as he squirmed around in discomfort. Man, is it sick of me to say that I enjoyed seeing him uncomfortable?

"We can always shove you back in the trailer." Arcee pointed out to shut him up.

"I'm all for shoving him back in there!" I cried raising my hand to show how much I supported her idea, even though I knew she was just saying it to try to keep him quiet. _'Trust me femme, that's not going to happen. I've tried many times to get him to just up and leave me alone, never gonna happen.' _I thought bitterly to myself.

Arcee had taken to pacing in front of Starscream, no doubt thinking about Airachnid.

"I'm not really so bad you know. Megatron, he's the evil one." Starscream said, see I told 'ya, can't shut him up for long!

"Tell it to someone who cares." Arcee said giving him her attention. _'No! Don't give him attention! Then we'll never shut him up!_

"Like who? Airachnid? What I wouldn't do to get my hands around her wretched throat." Starscream continued to rant.

"So we can agree on one thing." Arcee said putting her hand on her hip. _'Great. Just great. Now he'll really start up! Thanks a lot Arcee!'_

"Oh, you have no idea. She showed up one day and the next thing you know she's acting like she runs the place! She whispered lies into Megatrons audios, maneuvered to rob me of my rightful place!" He ranted on like the sparkling he was.

"And where's that? The glorious title of Aft-Kisser?" I joked mostly to myself, ignoring his annoyed glare and Arcee smirk.

"Well...she terminated my partner." Arcee said growing serious again.

"What! She's taking credit for scrapping him now too? That was my doing!"

"What!?" She quickly asked, fury behind her optics. It kinda scared me, and I don't scare easily. "You weren't there."

"Uh...of course I wasn't. I don't know what I was thinking!" Starscream tried to worm out of his idiocy. Everyone knows not to brag about that kind of thing in front of someone like Arcee. Idiot!

"Who are you talking about?" Arcee demanded, pointing a finger at him while she stalked closer to him.

"No one." Star said trying to throw her off. "Who are you talking about?"

"Tailgate."

"Who's Tailgate?" Star asked awkwardly.

Suddenly a look of realization flashed across Arcee's face plates. "You were the one. You extinguished Cliffjumper!"

Oh now he did it. Well, I've always wanted to see him get his aft handed to him. "Cliffjumper?" He asked getting scared.

"No, no, no, no you misunderstand. It wasn't like you think, the troopers mortally wounded him, I was trying to help Cliffjumper! Put him out of his misery! He begged me to!" He cried in desperation before Arcee kicked him away from her. "Okay, okay it was a mistake, I've made many, but I've changed. You wouldn't terminate a defenseless prisoner would you?"

Ooh, things were getting good. Arcee backed up and threw down the key to his bindings. "What!? What is that?" 'Scream asked nervously.

"The key to your cuffs!"

"What for?" He replied in desperation.

"Cliff would have given you a fighting chance." Arcee responded glaring at him, death in her optics.

"No! Please! I don't want to! What's past, is past! I'm one of you now!" He pleaded, looking pathetic. _'Come on! 'Con up and fight like a mech!'_

Arcee just onlined her blasters and aimed them at him. "No, no, no!"

"Take it!" She demanded as he picked up the key.

He scrambled with it before dropping it back to the ground. "You're pathetic!" She said as she picked up the key to release him herself. No realizing she had fallen for his trick. With a _chink _Starscream's claws cut through her side as he picked up the key again and freed himself.

"YOU LITTLE FRAGGING GLITCH-HEAD SPAWNED FROM UNICRON'S TAILPIPE!" I cried as I onlined my blades and attacked him in a blind fury. My blades connected with his claws as we began our deadly dance.

* * *

(Arcee's pov)

As I sat there clutching at my wound to try to slow the flow of energon, I looked up to see Nights fly into a rage on Starscream. She immediately gained the upper hand before Starscream took a handfull of sand and threw it into her optics before slashing her across the tank and then firing point blank into her chasis with his missiles. As she fell, I felt so angry that I ignored the warnings flashing on my screen and stood up charging at him myself.

After exchanging a few blows, Nights got back up and started back over to help me as he gained the upper hand again, forcing me back. "You should have finished me when you could. Now prepare to reunite with your past partners!"

A sudden blast to his side was all it took to make him loose his edge and give me my opening. "This...is...for...Cliffjumper!" I yelled as I punched him with so much force that we both tumbled over, with me on top. I was about to finish him off when I looked up to see Bee standing there with a look of shock and disappointment on his face, and when I turned around, Nights was on the ground unmoving. I got off him and collapsed on my side as Bee rushed down to help me.

Bee commed Ratchet for help and soon he had me and Nights fixed up and the others unfrozen. Nights had gone off with Natalie after comforting me about how Cliffjumper should be proud of me, which made me think about him even more. I went over and sat down to think as Ratchet explained things to the others. I looked over briefly to see Prime looking over at me.

"Arcee, I understand that you could not help yourself when you learned about Cliffjumper's killer, but I hope you have learned from this encounter." He said, as I sat there, expecting a lecture.

"Yeah, and I did. revenge isn't always the answer. I'm just lucky that NIghts was there. She really came through for me a few times in that little fight." I answered.

"Yes it does seem that she has taken to you better than she had with the rest of us, now what you do with that trust, that's the real thing to be worried about. you could possibly influence her enough to get her to join us permanently. I wish you all the luck you may find in dealing with her." Prime said wisely. I thought about how she had lost it when I got hurt, and how I lost it when she got hurt. _'Maybe we are connected.'_


	7. TMI

(Natalie's pov)

Miko, Bulkhead and I were watching a monster truck rally on TV. I've been getting along with the bots better than the Nightstrider has. She's got something on her mind, I can just tell, but she hasn't said anything to me yet.

"Would you mind lowering the volume?" Ratchet asked in an annoyed voice.

"Hey Ratch, check out the monster truck rally Miko took me to last week." Bulkhead told him.

"I compiled some highlights with my cellphone." Miko said excitedly.

"Innocent vehicles battling for the pleasure of human spectators? Ugh! Bloodsport!" Ratchet said indignantly.

"Yeah!" The three of us said enthusiastically.

"You _could_ be helping Optimus out in the field right now." Ratchet suggested, I'd bet in the hopes of getting rid of us.

"Aw, he doesn't need my help to search for some ancient, educational, thing-a-ma-bob." Bulk replied.

"The thing-a-ma-bob which you refer to happens to be a cybertronian data-cylinder. . ." Ratchet replied slightly appalled.

"Hey! We were still watching that!" I cried out as he put an image on out screen of some cylinder thingy.

". . .and there is no telling what vast intelligence it may hold." Ratchet continued, ignoring my complaint. "During the golden age dozens of these cylinders were created, each containing the sum total of cybertronian knowledge on any given subject. . . ." By then I had tuned out. Was Ratchet ever going to shut up about this stupid cylinder?

"TMI dude!" Miko cried out, finally losing it after yet another 'Ratchet lecture'.

"Switch it back! I want to see the Hoe-Down Show-Down!" Bulkhead complained.

"Hey it's okay Bulk! I can look for it online, I'm sure someone has posted it by now." I consoled him.

Suddenly the comms went off. "Ratchet! Decepticon ambush! The cylinder is at risk! We require back up!" Optimus's voice came over it urgently.

We all looked at each other, then Miko and I looked up at Bulk. "Back up is what I'm built for." Bulkhead said eagerly as he punched his fist into his palm. "Go bend some fenders Bulk!" Miko said as Bulk ran throught the opening ground bridge.

"I have a mission for you too girls." Ratchet said handing us both mops, before turning away. I looked over too Miko at the same time she looked over at me.

"We're sooo not cleaning are we?" I asked as a grin slipped on my face.

"Heck no! Follow me!" Miko said as she rushed after Bulk. _'This is so not a good idea, but I bet it will be fun!'_ I thought as I followed her through. _'I bet Jack would flip if he knew what we were doing right now!'_

We exited the bridge to see the bots fighting the cons. Knockout was fighting Optimus and Bulk was already grinding metal. All of the sudden, the con the Bulk was fighting began to fall onto Miko. Thinking fast, I rushed over and pushed her out of the way. Looking back up all I could think was, _'frag'._

I had almost made it away when it hit the ground and I both heard and felt a sickening SNAP! as it landed on my legs. As my world grew dark from the pain, I noticed Miko looking horrified. _'At least she's safe.'_ I thought as I blacked out.

* * *

(Nightstrider's Pov)

"Ratchet, where is Natalie?" I asked as I entered the base. I had gone out to clear my head after thinking about my reactions toward Arcee lately. It ended up giving me a processor ache.

"She's right over there cleaning with Miko." he relied not even turning around. I looked over to where he was pointing but all I saw were a couple of mops. "Uh...Ratchet? Those are mops." I stated, causing him to turn around. He must have realized where they had gone because he demanded that I go through the ground bridge to find and bring them back. When I got there the sight before me was horrifying.

Natalie's legs were crushed under a Eradicon, the bots and cons were going at it, Miko was crying next to some cylinder thingy it was all slagging crazy. Without thinking I rushed over to Nat and lifted the con off her. She wasn't responsive.

Flying into a rage unlike any I have had since leaving Cybertron, I rushed into battle and 'eradicated' every Eradicon I could reach. Soon the cons left with the cylinder that Miko was hiding by. Then I turned to Miko. Rage clouding my processor, I rushed towards her intent on doing to her what she had led Natalie into. Before I got there however, Arcee tackled me and pinned me down. I hardly noticed, I was too focused on that youngling that may have gotten Natalie killed!

Eventually I stopped struggling and settled for glaring at Miko, the glare promising pain.

"Nightstider! Explain your actions!" Prime ordered.

"I don't follow you Prime! I never should have listened to any of you to begin with! Now Nat could be dead and it's all her fault!" I screamed as I tried to get at her again.

"Miko?" Bulkhead asked confused. Still crying all she did was point over at Natalie.  
I tried to get at her again, but this time, Arcee slammed my helm into the ground and I slipped into stasis.

* * *

(Arcee's Pov)

_'Scrap! Now we're on thin ice. The cons have the cylinder and Nightstrider is trying to kill Miko.' _I thought as I drug her through the bridge and laid her off to the side until we could decide what to do with her. Prime had carried Natalie through and immediately brought her over to Ratchet.

"I am going to need Nurse Darby to help with this, she isn't offline yet, but there is much that we must do to save her now." Ratchet explained, already calling Jack's mom. Miko was still crying as she hovered near Natalie. The two of them had become close friends, I guess she must be beating herself up right now, I know I would be.

Hours later, Ratchet and June had stabilized Nat. The work they had done on her was extensive. I found myself wondering how she would react when she woke up, I also hoped Nights would stop trying to offline Miko now.

After June had left Ratchet took Bulk to scan him after hearing about the beam the cylinder had hit him with. The rest of us had gone out trying to track down the cylinder when Prime said that Ratchet had called us all back, saying that the cylinder no longer mattered. Now we were listening to Ratchet explain things.

"This hot spot you see here, it's information. Data. Living energy." Ratchet said as computer scans showed up on the screen.

"Hold on, it's alive, it's on fire. and it's in Bulkhead's brain?!" Miko asked loudly, the stress she had been feeling after what happened to both Natalie and Bulkhead slowly getting to her. "And what about Natalie's legs?! How is she going to get used to those 'repairs' you made?!"

"Chill Miko! The data is only inhabiting a fraction of my CPU. Infintesmal by standard neural net densities." Bulkhead said calmly enough. "Wait, how do I know all that?"

* * *

(Nightstrider's Pov)

I came online to find the bots talking around Bulkhead. "...synthetic energon."

_"Alright!"_ Bee exclaimed as I stood up.

"We hit the mother load?" Arcee asked excitedly.

"I wouldn't be to sure about that. I've seen energon substitutes slowly dissolve a bot from the inside out. Slowly, sure, but it still could happen." I stated as I looked around for Natalie. "Hey, where's Natalie?"

"Um...she...went with Jack? Yeah! She went with Jack! You should go pick them up from...the...library! Yeah!" Miko said in a rush.

"Okay?" I said before transforming into my Lambo and driving out of the base. When I got to the library they weren't there, so I drove around town looking for them. I checked Jack's house, Raf's, Miko's, the K.O. Burger, the school, the mall, everywhere! No sign of them. I was driving around through the desert while I thought about calling for help finding them when I saw something strange glimmering in the sun.

Going over to investigate, I found an overturned truck with some letters on the side. The first two were M.E. but the other were scratched off. I turned it back over not noticing the human behind the rocks aiming something at my back. I also didn't feel what attached itself to me after a soft _snift_ sound.

After I checked to see if anyone was inside and finding no one, I headed back to base. I was thinking about Natalie when a flood of memory came rushing back. Natalie wasn't with Jack! She had been crushed because of Miko! With that I tore off towards base, towards Miko.

* * *

(Unknown Pov)

"Sir. Tracking device attached and full functional. Over." A figure said into a radio as it stood up from behind some rocks.

"Good. Let the games begin." A voice answered back.

* * *

(Nightstrider's Pov)

"MIKO!" I shouted as I sped into the base. I was about to attack her when I saw Natalie on a berth and changed course. Soon I was standing there looking down at her. There were some major differences now. I could just imagine how she would react. I smirked as I turned around, frowning again.

"Miko, since I can see her breathing, I'll give you seven seconds to explain." I said in a threatening tone as the others prepared to hold me back.

"Why seven?" She asked edging back.

"Nat and I's thing. One..."

"Um...where to start."

"...Two..."

"Um...well...you see..."

"...Three..."

"ItwasacompleteaccidenthatwasallmyfaultI'msosorryw ejustwantedtogetoutof'Ratchetchores'!" she shouted out so quickly I barely caught it all.

"...Four? Okay, soooo Ratchet? Why are her legs..."

"We had to replace them or she wouldn't have ever walked again." He explained as everyone calmed down slightly, enough so that they seemed to relax.

"Okay then, but I'm not the one who's going to tell her when she wakes up." I said with a smirk as I thought about how she would react.


	8. Stronger, Faster

(Nightstrider's Pov)

Looking down at Nat and her new hardware, I found that now I really could say she was as good as my daughter. When Ratchet had asked for scans of my legs, I had no idea what he needed them for. I had just assumed he needed them for some reason or other. I had already learned not to argue with Ratchet, it was better for your health as well as your sanity.

I smiled as I thought about what her upgrades would give her. If she didn't hate us all for doing this, she would be ecstatic.

* * *

(3rd Person's Pov)

When Natalie woke up, well let's just say...epic. As soon as she woke up she tried to stand, only to notice that her legs weighed more than they used to, what with the 'upgrade' they had recieved.

* * *

(Natalie's Pov)

I woke up feeling groggy, I couldn't really remember much yet. As I tried to stand up though, I found that my legs felt heavier. When I looked down...I screamed. Where my legs should have been, were legs that looked a lot like miniature versions of Nightstrider's, right down to the color. I looked around in a panic to see everyone watching me wearily.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" I shouted like crazy looking around until I found Nights.

"Well Ratchet...I told you that you would have to explain it to her." Nights said with a certain sense of smugness.

"Eh-em...well...you see...agh! Natalie, what is the last thing you remember?" Ratchet asked, obviously struggling to tell me something.

"Uh...following Miko through the Ground Bridge. Um...I think I remember that Miko was in trouble...maybe?" I answered, unsure of what this had to do with my new legs.

"You did indeed go through the Ground Bridge with Miko, and Miko did indeed get into danger. You saved her, however, you were unable to save yourself. A vehicon that Bulkhead had been fighting was about to crush Miko when you pushed her out of the way." Ratchet explained and suddenly it all came rushing back to me. The Ground Bridge...the cylinder...Miko...the vehicon...everything.

"In doing so..."

"I remember now Ratchet. You don;t have to beat around the bush, just get to the point."

"The vehicon did indeed fall on top of you, crushing your legs. When Nights found you, she almost killed Miko." Ratchet said. "However, June and I were able to save your like and replace your legs. Using a scan of Nightstrider's legs I had taken, we replaced your legs with cybertroian tech."

When he said that, I was shocked. Not in the 'I want to kill you right now' sense, but in the 'thank Primus that is as bad as it gets' sort of way. Now I was like Nightstrider in a way, and I wasy very happy about it. But then a thought struck me.

"I thought cybertronian tech required a spark in the case of living body parts?" I asked in a concerned, confused voice.

"It does." Was all he said looking in the opposite direction. When he didn't elaborate, I looked over to Nightstrider with the question in my eyes.

"Your heart gave out during the beginning of the operation. To keep you alive Ratchet used a piece of my spark to create a miniature one for you. We simply had to fix all the kinks out and some other really sciency stuff that I have no idea about, and bamm, we got you to where you are now." She told me, the look in her eyes saying what she couldn't. I could tell that she was afraid of what I might think of all this.

"Oh...well...okay. At least I'm alive. Nights?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. Thank you all for all you've done for the two of us." I said as Nights gave my head an affectionate nuzzle.

"You should get some rest Nat. You need all the energy you can get." She told me as the rest of the bots left the med bay, followed soon after by her. "Good night Nat."

"Good night Nights."

* * *

(Nightstrider's Pov)

"Ratchet..." I called out after the retreating medic.

"Yes Nightstrider?" He responded.

"Thank you for saving her." I said before I surprised everyone, including myself. I hugged him. He hugged me back soon after saying, "Of course."

After we all went our separate ways, I went to Natalie and I's room to catch up on my recharge.

The next day Natalie was waiting for me to arrive so that we could take the day for ourselves.. As I walked into the main room I noticed the other two people in the room.

"Okay Ratchet, Nat and I are on our way out, comm me if you need anything." I called over my shoulder as I transformed and Natalie got in.

"Very well." He called back, to engrossed in some science thingy to really pay attention.

"Hey Nat." I said to her as she settled in.

"What?" She responded, curiosity in her eyes.

"Watch this." I told her. "Hey Ratchet!" I called out.

"Hmm?" He answered back, completely lost in his work.

"I'm gonna burn down the base and sell you all out to Megatron!" I told him, holding in a fit of laughter. Looking over at Nat, I could see that she had the same dilemma.

"Sounds fun." He answered back not noticing us completely busting with fits of laughter.

"Come on Nat, let's go test those new peddes of yours." I said as I transformed, letting her inside. As soon as she was in, I went through the bridge and out into the forest we had selected for the a few hours.

We went through the basics. Ratchet had given us a list of the functions her peddes carried. She should be able to transform them into rocket skates or treads, depending on the terrain. She would also have partial flight, possible through thrusters and stabilizers that were built in. All in all, I think she'll enjoy today.

After many tests, close encounters of the squirrely kind, and lots of laughing we headed back to base. As I walked through I noticed Ratchet holding a green liquid in a syringe. "Hey Nat, go find Raf. I want to speak with Ratchet."

"Okay Nights." She said as she went off in search of the boy genius.

"Hey Ratchet. What are you doing?" I asked as I walked over to him.

"I am testing a strand of synthetic energon derived from the formula we gleaned from Bulkhead's episode." He explained.

"So what are you going to do with that?" I inquired as I pointed to the syringe.

"I am going to test it out on myself." He said as he prepared to inject the formula into himself.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked nervously, if anything happened to him now I might get blamed. After all, I still haven't officially switched sides yet, although I planned on requesting Prime's permission after they got back from wherever they had gone after Natalie and I had left.

"Yes I am sure, now stand back please." He said as he pushed the plunger down, injecting himself. As soon as he had though he abruptly fell to the ground. I hurried over to him and checked him over. He was stable for now so I moved him to the med bay. I then left to check on Nat. When we came back Ratchet was standing with Raf not to far away.

.:Ratchet, lock onto Arcee's coordinates and prepare and emergency ground bridge:. Optimus suddenly sent through the comms.

.:I'm locked on, no wait, I've lost it, she's going to fast in to tight of quarters:. Ratchet replied.

Soon after that Optimus commed again. .:Ratchet, we're under heavy fire! Requesting emergency exit!:.

"Ratchet! Send me after Arcee! You go help the others!" I said urgently.

With a nod he activated the ground bridge and I rushed through.

* * *

(Arcee's Pov)

I had just been hit and finished crashing and as I looked up I saw at least a dozen Eradicons coming in for a landing all around me. They had landed in a circle around me, leaving me no exit. Then, as they closed in and readied their blasters, a ground bridge opened above them.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" A very angry voice yelled out as the bot fell down towards us. They landed inside the circle on top of one, sending some of the cons back before standing up and throwing the one they had landed on into another one. As that one was stunned they ran up and punched their lights out before turning to the next one. They onlined wrist blades and sliced off the cons arm before plowing him into the ground.

They then performed air spin, landing on another before lifting that one up and crushing him into the ground. As this was happening, I recognized the purple armor and distinct details. Nightstrider!? By now she was running a few more, doing a spin kick and taking out two before continuing on with a propelled hand stand straight into another.

She then rolled out of the way off blaster fire as she jumped into the air. As she came back down she grabbed onto the head of one of the cons before ripping it off as she sprung off of it like a spring board. In another flurry of blaster fire and amazing moves, she had cleared the area around me. Then she started walking over to me. As she did though, one of them got back up and was sneaking up behind her. Before I could warn her, and without even looking back at all she punched him square in the faceplate.

She then finished her way over to me and picked me up, checking me over for injuries. After that the others arrived with Ratchet, all of them looking at him in awe. When we got back to base Raf asked what happened. "Ratchet was a one bot wrecking machine!" Bulkhead boasted. I was shocked at that news.

"Alright what's your secret?" I asked as Nights and Nat walked out of the room, leading me to believe they already knew what was up with Ratchet.

"No secret, just a little something I like to call SynthEn." He explained tossing us a vial of the stuff. I then walked to my quarters and sat down on my berth, thinking about Nights and how she had saved me. _'Damn, I'm glad she's not my enemy. The way she took those cons down was brutal.'_ I thought to myself before realizing that I hadn't thanked her yet. _'I should probably do that now.'_ I thought as I made my way to her quarters.

When I got there I noticed her door was open as I heard a crash coming from inside. I rushed in with my blasters drawn, an automatic response I had picked up on Cybertron. What I saw was Nightstrider in recharge on her berth with the most peaceful look on her faceplate. I found it hard to look away, but when I did I noticed my own faceplates heating up in embarassment before I made a hasty retreat out of her room before she woke up to find me there.

* * *

(Nightstrider's Pov)

I woke up out of recharge and made my way groggily towards the main room, what I found woke me right up. There was Ratchet, hooked up to life support. _'He must have used that green stuff on himself again and got in way over his head.'_ I thought as I made my was over to him not noticing the others coming in behind me.

"Hey Ratchet." I said coming up to him. He looked up at me and asked, "What is it Nightstrider? Here to poke at my stupidity?"

"No, i just wanted to see what your reaction would be if I repeated what I told you while you were so focused on the sythenergy stuff." I replied.

"Oh, and what was that?" He asked annoyed.

"That I'm planning on burning down this base and sell you all out to Megatron!" I said as I burst out laughing at the look on his face.  
"There! Right there! That's the look I was hoping for earlier! Jeez you really get lost in your work don't you?"

"I have been told that a few times." He replied, understanding that I was in no way serious.

"Wel, to quote one of the craziest mass murderers Nat has forced me to learn about, '_WHY SO SERIOUS?'_" I asked laughing out at my own reference to The Joker from Batman. "Anyway get better soon doc. I can't believe I am about to say this but, you guys areas close to a family as I've had in a long time, and you better not go and screw that up by getting yourself offlined!" I said with a smile. I then noticed the others coming over to speak with him.

Apparently he did as well as he tried to push himself up. "Easy old friend." Prime said resting a servo on his shoulder. "You lost a lot of energon, both good and bad."

"I...I...I didn't intend to hurt anyone...I...I just wanted so badly to..."

"Help us." Prime interrupted. "We know, but you nearly caused the loose of something irreplaceable. Our medic and a most trusted friend." Prime said telling Ratchet how much he meant to us. "You did however lead us to a much needed energon supply. And, for that, we should all be thankful."

As Optimus went to leave I followed him out of the room. "Hey Prime!" I called out to get him to wait.

"Yes Nightstrider?" He asked as he turned around. _'How does he always know which one of us it is?'_

"I...I...I kinda...wanted to ask you if I could join your side completely." I told him hoping he would except.

"Well, you have proven yourself many a time in the past. If you are sure, then I would be glad to welcome you into our fold." He replied. I was sure my optics must have lit up in my happiness.

"Optimus, is there anyway we could do this in secret so that I can surprise the others?" I asked hopefully.

"I don't see why not." He told me. I thanked him and went to my quarters to think about how I would reveal this to the others. I know I said I wouldn't join the Autobots before, but that was before I got to know them.


	9. Encounters w MECH 1

(Nightstider's Pov)

It has only been a few days and now Prime and I have our surprise ready. I am keeping my Elite mod to my insignia as well as purple for its color. Don't judge, I really like the color purple, and red would look horrid with my paint job. Optimus is the only other one that knows that I have officially joined the autobots, being as he had to do the honors. We haven't told the others yet, I want to surprise them big time. It's going to be a great surprise!

Phase 1: Suspicious Action

After I requested Prime's permission to go to an energon mine I had found awhile ago I went to the main room where everyone else was. "Hey Bee!" I called out as I entered the room.

_"Yeah__ Nights?"_ Bee replied looking over.

"Can you open a ground bridge for me?" I asked trying to sound like I was faking innocence.

_"Where?"_ He asked cautiously. I gave him the coordinates and he thought about it before agreeing and turning on the bridge.

"Be back soon." I said in an off-hand tone.'I looked over my shoulder briefly, faking a look of slight guilt before walking through the ground bridge.

(Arcee's Pov)

When Nights requested a ground bridge at first I didn't think anything of it. She probably wanted to be alone, but when I heard the undertone of guilt when she asked for it and then noticed the look she gave us as she went through the bridge I got an uneasy feeling in my tank. Suddenly suspicious I went to the computer and brought up her life signal to track her movements. When I saw where she went once she was through I called the others over. "Guys!Look at this!" I yelled getting there attention.

(Nightstrider's Pov)

After I got through I transformed into my Lambo and sped off towards an abandoned decepticon energon I got there I entered the mine and searched for wh ere I had stored and processed the high grade I had found awhile back. As I was in the mine I picked up a decepticon signal, Starscream.

He landed and searched around inside as well. Curious I watched as he revealed another stash of energon here, his most likely. I hid as he gathered some and left, when it was all clear I left the mine and went back to where I was bridged to. I couldn't wait to see the looks on the others saw the high grade, especially Bulk.

(Arcee's Pov)

We watched as Nights signal went straight for an abandoned decepticon energon mine. Not to long after she arrived, Starscream's signal popped up as well. After awhile the two signals dispersed from the mine and hers headed back to where she was bridged to.

.:Nightstrider to base. Can I get a pickup?:. Nights asked over the comm.

Bee looked over at me questioningly. I gave him a slight nod and he opened the bridge. After Nights was through I noticed that she seemed to be hiding something. As the alarms in my processor went off I went towards her.

"Where were you?" I asked as if honestly curious and not already knowing where she had went.

"Out." She replied shifting her feet.

"Out where?" Bulkhead asked cautiously.

"Why do you need to know?" She asked standoffish.

"We're just wondering why you went to a decepticon mine and talked with Starscream. We thought we could trust you!" I said loudly. _'__I thought I could trust you.' _

"You can!" She cried out defiantly.

"Oh yeah? Then what were you doing there?" I asked glaring at her. Suddenly she took reached behind her back and brought out a purple energon shard and threw it at me. "I was there getting some high grade that I had hid away to share with you! My mistake!" She yelled as she tore out of the base. All of us stood there in shock, not wanting to believe that we had turned on her so easily. I heard heavy footfalls approaching and guessed it was Prime.

"So has Nightstrider revealed her surprise yet?" He asked in a slightly amused voice.

"Yes, sir, we know about the high grade." I answered.

"That's not what I was talking about. She said that she was going to tell you all after she got back." He replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked wondering what she had wanted to tell us.

"She asked to become a full autobot, we changed her insignia last night and she was going to show you all over some high grade." He answered thoughtfully."Why is she not here?"

"We misjudged her when we saw her signal go to a decepticon mine. Then when Starscreams signal popped up we thought she had went there to meet him, except that now that I think about it, she hates him." I explained.

"Optimus!"Ratchet suddenly asked urgently.

"Yes old friend?" Prime asked looking over at him.

"Nightstrider won't answer her comm and I can't pick up her signal." he explained.

"Where was she last?" Prime asked going over to him.

"The last place her signal showed up was here in this area." Ratchet said pointing at the screen.

"Ratchet bridge us out." Optimus said as he looked over at us. "Bulkhead, Arcee come with me." We then went through the bridge to find quite the sceen. Human trucks were scattered around as well as signs of small explosions. As I took a closer at one of the vehicles I found that they showed an ominous name._ 'Oh no!'_

M.E.C.H.

(Nightstrider's Pov)

After I left the base I tore out across the desert, not caring who saw how fast I was going. I finally stopped by some rocks and sat down. I thought about everything that had happened since I met these 'bots. I didn't want to believe that I may have been right, maybe all autobots really couldn't be trusted. As I was lost in thought I didn't notice the convoy of vehicles heading my way until it was too late.

(MECH's Pov)

"Sir, we are coming up on the tracking device's signal. Do you want the target functioning?" I asked looking around for the target. It would be impossible to miss a splash of color in this desert area.

"As functional as possible." The boss man replied.

'Yes sir." I replied before planning an attack.

(Nightstrider's Pov)

After awhile I heard engines coming towards me. Thinking at first that it was the 'bots I told them to go away without looking. When I felt the first shock run through me I turned to see humans surrounding me. Already mad at the 'bots I flew into a rage destroying anything I could before I heard another sound and my world went black.

(Natalie's Pov)

When the 'bots returned they looked worried. "Where's Nights?" I asked jogging over to them.

"She is..." Prime started but the way he was sounding told me I wasn't going to like it. "...in the hands of M.E.C.H." Ratchet and Bee stiffened at this revelation and I asked what made it so bad. After they told me about their encounters with M.E.C.H. I felt my heart start to break. I felt myself sink to my knees, worrying about what we might find. _'If we ever find her.'_

I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and I looked up to see Jack. Without thinking I tucked myself into his shoulder as I started to cry. I couldn't lose her, she promised me that she would never leave me! "It'll be okay Nat. They'll find Nights, just wait and see." Jack said as he tried to comfort me.

"There's just one thing I don't understand. How did they find her?" I asked still tucked into Jack.

"It is impossible to say for sure until we find her and determine the course of events that took place. For now we should focus on locating her." Prime said to everyone. Ratchet was probably already trying to find her on the computer.


	10. Encounters w MECH 2

AN

Sorry for not updating sooner, for the past few days every time I went to get on my profile an error popped up, but now I'm back and ready to write! Now on with the story!

(Night's Pov)

When my systems came on again my helm ached and I found that I couldn't move. I was in a dark room with no lights and I couldn't see anything, little did I know someone was watching me intensely. As my thought processors became more focused I started to remember what had happened earlier, who were those people? Where the frag am I?

I looked down at my servos and I noticed the restraints holding them to the berth that I was on. My peddes were similarly restrained. Great. Suddenly the lights came on and threw the room into a new light. I could see the tools and equipment lined up on either side of me as well as humans approaching in white suits. Something told me that this wasn't going to be fun...

(Nat's Pov)

I was out of my head with worry. What if they couldn't find her? What if they found her but they were to late? What if I lost my adoptive mom? The questions kept buzzing through my head so fast that I didn't notice Jack come up and sit beside me. "Hey Nat, how you holding up?" Jack asked me and when I looked at him I could see the concern in his eyes.

"Not so good, I can't stop thinking about what they could be doing to her right now. What if we can't save her in time? What if..." I ranted letting all my worry seep into my voice.

"Nat!" Jack interrupted. "You can't think like that, just focus on all the good memories you have with her, we'll find her." He said as he tried to comfort me.

"Thanks Jack." I said before I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and hugging him tightly. Then I went back to my room to get some rest.

(Arcee's Pov)

I felt so guilty for this mess. Nights was just trying to surprise us all and we assumed the worst at the first sign that she may have betrayed us with no actual proof. I mean she has saved my life before and I didn't even give her the benefit of the doubt. _'Nightstrider, I swear I will find you and get you home, I promise.'_

We had been looking everywhere for her, we had even called in a favor with the government to see if they knew of any MECH bases anywhere near here, nothing. I thought back to the time when Airachnid and MECH were working together, and Cliff, Tailgate, in all of those situations I had felt helpless. Now someone else needed help and I couldn't do anything and once again I felt helpless.

{FLASHBACK TO PARTNERS CHAPTER}

I'm just lucky that Nights was there. She really came through for me a few times in that little fight." I answered. "Yes it does seem that she has taken to you better than she had with the rest of us, now what you do with that trust, that's the real thing to be worried about. you could possibly influence her enough to get her to join us permanently. I wish you all the luck you may find in dealing with her."

{FLACHBACK ENDS}

_"...taken to you better than she has the rest of us..."_

_"...what you do with that trust..."_

_"...you could possibly influence her enough to join us permanently..."_

Scrap, I really fragged up real good. If we ever find her, I am going to have to do some major apologizing. I as good as drove her away without even listening to her, even after the times that she had saved my life.

I had just pulled into the Darby's driveway when I saw a familiar looking uniform, one that I did not want to see near here again, a mech agent, and he was looking right at me.

"Hey, listen, I need to speak with you boss alright? It's about the one we've got at base." He said not even reaching for his weapon which gave me just enough of a reason to consider it. "Why shouldn't I just kill you now?" I asked still in my vehicle mode. "Because then I won't be able to tell you where to find her before they really start to dig into her." He answered looking at me.

(Two days prior - Special Sgt. Williams POV)

I wasn't so sure about the bosses latest plans about getting information out of this machine. After all the last time we tried something like this it didn't end well. I had been given guard duty over the thing and I have to say, for a machine, it didn't look half bad... except for the obvious areas where our scientists had had a go at her.

It was then that I noticed it looking at me, I turned away quickly after that.

After awhile however I looked back and noticed it was still looking at me. "Would you stop looking at me!" I shouted at it not expecting the answer I got back.

"No. I want to be sure I want to kill you before I get out of here and back to my daughter." It said still staring at me. When it said daughter I was immediately reminded of my own daughter, I hadn't seen her in almost two months and already it felt like forever. I couldn't imagine what it must be feeling... Wait! It's just a machine! It can't feel!

"What do you mean your daughter?" I asked sarcastically.

"I mean a female being whom I am the caretaker of and whom she looks to for guidance. The nurturing female to the impressionable female. AKA a mother and a daughter." She said with something that sounded like annoyance.

"But your just a machine, you can't have feelings let alone children." I said disbelievingly.

"Wrong," It said and soon I was listening to it as it explained what it really was and how it came into being. Something about a war and a far away planet. I listened as she told me about her daughter Natalie and how they had met. After all was said and done I was happy to see the end of my shift, tonight I was headed home for a week with my family. My mind however was abuzz with thoughts about what I had learned and how I would feel in her situation. _'I have to do something. No child should be without their parents, and no parents should be separated from their children. No matter who or what they are.' _I may have been a part of MECH but I still had morals and honor.

(Arcee's Pov)

I considered it for a moment before comming Prime. .:Optimus:.

.:Yes Arcee? Do you have any new information on Nightstrider?:. He answered back almost immediately.

.:Maybe. A MECH agent was waiting for me outside the Darby residence:. I replied. .:He wants to talk to you about her:.

.:Affirmative. Have him meet us at this location:.

.:Yes sir:.

"Okay, if you really want to help us, meet us here. ALONE." I told him before driving off again.


End file.
